Top 10 Valyrian steel swords from the Game of Thrones books

1. Longclaw

Longclaw was originally the ancestral sword of House Mormont, with a bear’s head carved on the pommel. The sword is also referred to a “bastard sword,” as it’s half a foot longer than a standard longsword. When Jeor Mormont joined the Night’s Watch, he gave the sword to his son Jorah. However, Jorah was later banished from the North for selling poachers into slavery. When he fled to Essos, he left Longclaw behind, and the sword made its way back to Jeor at the Wall.

During book 1 A Game of Thrones, Jeor is the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch and Jon Snow is serving as his steward. Jon saves Jeor’s life when a wight attacks the Lord Commander in his bedchamber, but Longclaw’s pommel is burned and damaged in the attack. Jeor has the sword repaired by the blacksmiths at the Wall and orders the pommel changed from a bear to a white wolf. He then gives Jon the sword, saying it’s appropriate for a bastard to wield a bastard sword.

Jon carries the sword with him for the rest of his days, using it to slay Quorin Halfhand beyond the Wall as well as to defend the Wall from the wildling attack on Castle Black. In A Dance with Dragons, Jon beheads Janos Slynt with the sword, following the teaching of his father Ned that whoever passes the sentence should swing the sword.

It is not known what happens to Longclaw after Jon is killed by his brothers in Dance. But on Game of thrones, he is resurrected and wields the blade straight through to the end of the series.

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